When should you use a newswire? Are they worth it? What should you do once you’ve released your newswire? When should you not use a newswire?
These questions have come up repeatedly in the Fintech Marketing Slack group, all which were carefully answered by Scott Rosenblum, a PR expert and president and founder of LEVEL PR.
So we thought we’d put all his great answers into an article so everyone is always able to find them!
What do the wires do in PR? What is their role?
If you work in marketing, you’ve likely come across newswire services. They are large businesses that have the job of sending news stories to journalists, bloggers and on their websites. Usually, marketing and PR professionals use these newswire companies to generate coverage on large news outlets, and to help increase brand awareness, boost SEO and other purposes.
How much do the wires matter? Are they worth it?
Most of the major newswire services access the same backchannel tech stacks to place a release, generally speaking, but the real question a fintech marketer needs to ask is “What are my expectations for the release?”
If the wire is the means to secure SEO traction, that's fine, but if the objective is real media coverage, a release on any wire service alone won't do it.
Most reporters don't check the wires (unless it is a really big company that they are already tracking) because there are so many releases going out at a given time. They also usually ignore the wires because reporters usually want the story angles and the info that is not found in a press release that anyone can find on Google.
That said, the info in a release is usually a good background for the news and a good place for reporters to start. This is why individual, targeted outreach to the media you wish to reach will be essential to garner coverage for your company's news.
This is why if you are going to use a wire service, I recommend doing it as the final step, after you have garnered legitimate media coverage for the news - unless of course it is news that is required for material disclosure purposes, like a publicly traded company.
Sometimes having a news release on the wire and/or as a post in a company blog can be beneficial to garner coverage for the news. Editors for industry newsletters and blogs often need links to relevant coverage for their roundup stories, so having a link to the release on the wire that you can send to them is helpful.
As a fintech, what are your best press release distribution options with the wires?
Most IT newswire services access the same backchannel tech stacks to place a release, but for ones that have vertical fintech targeting, it might be good to check out GlobeNewswire, as they have finance specialties that other wires do not.
For those marketers who are submitting crypto/blockchain news, there is a great niche option to explore called Chainwire. It is not cheap, but it is effective in placing a release in 2nd and 3rd tier crypto outlets and sometimes top tier, depending on which package you choose.
There are also such mainstays as PRNewswire and BusinessWire, but they can get expensive, as often you have to subscribe to them for a certain amount of time which is not good for a fintech company that puts out one or two releases a year.
The positives of these wires is that they often offer more distribution options that not only target journalists/outlets at various vertical trades, but also for different countries around the world. And if your release includes lots of photos and video add-ons, they can be the way to go if cost is not an issue, as multimedia extras are typically a la carte options added to the final fee. Extra distributions, either vertical markets or different countries, are also considered a la carte charges.
Personally, I have found that the best bet for fintech startups, especially early stage ones, is to use PRWeb. PRWeb is owned by Cision as a more affordable alternative to its PRNewswire and unlike its big brother, you can run press releases on it a la carte. This works for a lot of startups because in the early stages, they may be lucky to submit 2-3 releases a year.
The only catch about PRWeb is that you have to set up the release at least two days in advance before the date/time you want it to go out, otherwise there is an additional fee that is charged for expediency. Also when you set up a release on it, they do usually give one option to target vertical journalists, but it is general categories, like “technology” or “business.”
You may like: Top 13 Fintech PR Agencies (Based on Recommendations)
Is it worth using a newswire for a rebranding effort?
For a rebranding effort, the reasons for using a newswire are not all that different from a regular news announcement. Regardless of the wire, it is best to work with a PR agency, comms person or a really great solo PR person to target the 8-10 outlets/reporters that may help move the awareness needle about a rebrand likely with an embargoed or exclusive pitching effort. But before you do this, you need to consider the newsworthiness of the rebranding effort.
Is the effort something that is really different from how the company was represented or recognized as before? Is it also a name change? Is the effort happening in tandem with a major event as well e.g., opening a new office, hiring a new, key person - anything that reflects the values of the rebranding?
This is important to consider because if the rebranding is slight or inconsequential, then few in the media will find it newsworthy. Or if the execution of the campaign is the only interesting thing, then later on it could be of interest to a marketing or ad trade publication.
What kind of budget should you have in place if you use newswires?
It is best to allow for anywhere between $305 (for the minimal, best package from PRWeb) all the way up to $2,000 or more if you are planning a release with lots of multimedia, multiple distribution channels or country channels, etc.
What are some steps to follow once your press release is out via a newswire?
The main thing you should do after the release hits the wire (besides waiting for the pickup report from the wire service) is to spread the word about the news via marketing channels.
If you haven’t already done this with media coverage garnered for the news, this is then the opportunity to spread the announcement update via social channels, blog posts, and as a blast email to all key company stakeholders, prospect lists, adding it to email signatures and so forth.
As mentioned, this content merchandising is much more effective with actual, credible, earned media coverage but if you have none for your news announcement, then beggars can’t be choosers.
When should you not use a newswire?
I would not recommend using a wire service for minor announcements. This includes personnel announcements, mentions of your company in an analyst report, when your company is going to be speaking or exhibiting at a conference, and awards your company has won. There are always exceptions to this statement, but for the most part, the media does not care about this kind of news.
In some cases, it is less about not using the wire, but instead adjusting when you use the wire. For example, if you have a news announcement that you have to put on the wire, but also have an exclusive opportunity with a reporter about said news, it pays to give the reporter the first posting.
A media exclusive loses steam for a reporter if she knows that the release will hit exactly when her article posts or she may not even agree to it. In some cases, there is no wiggle room on this (e.g. a quarterly announcement, partnership with a bigger company that’s calling the shots), but if you do have some flexibility, it is best to offer the reporter an opportunity for her to post the article a couple of hours before the release goes up on the wire.
That way, the article can truly be exclusive as the only outlet that has the news for that window of time. It is a small, but important gesture that can go a long way for a marketer to ensure a strong relationship with the reporter in the future.
Big thank you to Scott for going into so much detail and answering all our questions! To find out more about Scott and to get in touch with him, head to:
- Scott’s LinkedIn: Scott Rosenblum
- Scott’s website: LEVEL PR
